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Biomedical subjects

A B Elster

Publications and source records attributed to A B Elster.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Judicial involvement and conduct problems of fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers.

Data were obtained from retrospective review of 191 patient records to determine the extent and types of conduct problems among fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers. Ninety-eight fathers (51%) reported having committed a legal offense prior to the pregnancy. This rate appears substantially greater than rates of arrests of adolescents in the general population. When paired data for couples were analyzed, there was great similarity for severity of offense. Fathers, however, had committed more severe crimes than their partners. Male offenders came from families of lower socioeconomic status backgrounds and more single-parent families and were less frequently employed or in school (or graduated) than nonoffenders. They also had been more involved with various other problem behaviors, such as a previous pregnancy, drinking behavior, and behavior problems at school. There was a clustering of problem behaviors among offenders suggesting psychosocial maladjustment prior to the pregnancy. Our results suggest an association between fatherhood and delinquency among partners of adolescent mothers. It appears that these fathers form a heterogeneous group. Although some young fathers may be well adjusted, others have significant psychologic problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The financial impact of a comprehensive adolescent pregnancy program on a university hospital.

This study investigated the financial impact which an adolescent pregnancy program had on one of its sponsoring agencies, the University Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT. Financial data from hospital billings and collections on the 75 teens who delivered during a 12-month period were reviewed. A comparison of the money for salaries supplied to the special program by the hospital with the amount of estimated "new" money generated for the hospital by the program yielded an income to expenditure ratio greater than two. Eighteen teens who were in the lowest self-pay category were matched to self-pay teens delivering at the same hospital who received traditional prenatal care. The hospital collection rate for teens in the special program was not significantly greater than that of the comparison group. The investment in an adolescent pregnancy program was beneficial mainly from the viewpoint of recruitment of patients who were brought into the hospital system as a result of the adolescent pregnancy program.

Accounting↗
PubMed1984

The effect of maternal age, parity, and prenatal care on perinatal outcome in adolescent mothers.

Maternal age and prenatal care were found to influence the risk for having a small-for-gestational age infant in white adolescent mothers who had both one and two previous live births. However, poor care exerted a relatively stronger affect than young age for primiparous mothers, while the reverse was found for multiparous mothers. Moreover, for women with first births, there was an interaction between variables in that early prenatal care promoted better pregnancy outcome for younger teenagers than for older teens or adults. These results indicate that the perinatal risks of adolescent pregnancy are affected by both physiologic factors and prenatal care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Coping in a group of expectant adolescent fathers: an exploratory study.

Twenty expectant adolescent fathers were interviewed during the course of their partners' pregnancies. Ten coping strategies used by these subjects in response to the upcoming transition to fatherhood were identified. These coping strategies were categorized according to the Lazarus paradigm as direct actions, information-seeking, intrapsychic processes, and inhibition of action. These strategies dealt either with the potential problem (i.e., fatherhood) or the accompanying stressful emotions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1983

Teenage fathers. Stresses during gestation and early parenthood.

To determine the nature of the stresses experienced by teenage fathers, 20 youths (mean age, 17.6 years) were interviewed from one to four times during the prenatal period and at four to six weeks following delivery. While all conceptions had occurred premaritally, most couples had married by the time of delivery. A total of 44 interviews were performed: four during first trimester, 12 during second trimester, 17 during third trimester, and 11 postpartum. Stressors reported by the subjects were grouped into four categories: vocational-educational concerns, concerns about the health of the mother and/or the baby, concerns about future parenthood, and problems with relationships. It was found that the intensity of these concerns changed throughout pregnancy and the neonatal period. Subjects who had expected the pregnancy to occur tended to report less stress during the third trimester than did teens who had not anticipated conception.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Parental behavior of adolescent mothers.

The results of the studies reviewed lead to the conclusion that some adolescent parents are faced with excessive stress, have an inadequate social support network, lack adequate knowledge of child development, are developmentally immature, and possess inappropriate child-rearing attitudes. The lack of rigorous, well-controlled studies, however, makes these conclusions tentative at best. Each of the socioeconomic and psychological factors listed above, in addition to innate infant characteristics, affects parental behavior. Too few studies have been done to state conclusively which of these factors have major effects on adolescent parenting. Preliminary results would suggest, however, that adolescent and adult mothers interact differently with their children. The reasons why this occurs and the significance of this difference are not presently known. Although there are conflicting results, it appears as though children of adolescent parents are at a slightly increased risk for child abuse, but not suboptimal intellectual development, when compared to children of adult mothers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Relationship between frequency of sexual intercourse and urinary tract infections in young women.

We compared personal and sexual behavior of a group of 32 young adult women who had a culture proven urinary tract infection (UTI) and a group of 28 women who had no urinary symptoms. All women were sexually active, and the two groups were similar for age, race, marital status, history of previous pregnancy, and use of oral contraceptives. The major finding was an increase in the frequency of sexual intercourse by the study group immediately before the onset of symptoms. No group differences were found for manner of perineal hygiene, frequency of urination, frequency of refraining from voiding after the initial urge, and frequency of urinating after coitus. We conclude that an increase in sexual intercourse may be one of the factors involved in the development of a symptomatic UTI in young women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Unwed teenage fathers: emotional and health educational needs.

Sixteen unwed teenage prospective fathers (mean age, 17.4 years) were studied to evaluate their emotional and health education needs. All were partners of girls enrolled in an adolescent maternity project. Nine teenagers were clinically assessed to be coping well with the pregnancy; 4, to be coping moderately well; and 3, to be coping poorly. Six teenagers were referred for counseling because of clinical evidence of significant depression. In response to a series of 4 questions testing their knowledge of reproductive physiology, 5 subjects answered 3--4 questions correctly; 10, 1--2 correctly; and 1, none. All expressed great interest in learning more about childbirth and childcare. In this select group of teenagers, there was a need for supportive counseling services and teaching in health education. Further research is needed to determine the scope of the problems encountered by unwed teenage fathers in other clinical settings.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sexual behavior and urinary tract infection.

A study to identify factors which put young, sexually active women at risk to develop a urinary tract infection (UTI) was done. Reported here are differences in sexual behaviors in the study and control groups. All subjects were currently sexually active. Study subjects had a urine culture of greater than 10(5) single pathogen species. Control subjects were healthy women seeking preventive health care services. Both groups completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of demographic data, past personal and family history, health status, habits of daily living and sexual activity and behaviors. Data analysis results showed that women who develop a UTI were more sexually active than their counterparts who did not. The data also indicate that increased coital activity preceded a UTI, and that the female superior position was used more frequently. Other coital activities and related sexual behaviors tested were not significantly different in the two groups, nor were they associated with the onset of a urinary tract infection. The results of this pilot study indicate a potential need to review the content of current preventive health teaching about UTIs. The validity of these findings must be further investigated before a conclusive statement or recommendations can be made.

Adult↗